A statue in
Sydney of Captain Cook bearing
the inscription that he
"discovered"
Australia has been denounced
as offensive to Aborigines.

Linda
Burney, an Aboriginal MP in
the New South Wales
parliament, said the claim was
insulting because it ignored
the fact that Aborigines had
lived in Australia for 60,000
years when the 18th century
explorer arrived.

She conceded
that the statue needed to be
seen in its historical
context; it was erected in the
city's Hyde Park in 1879. But
she said: "It is
insulting in the sense that it
is wrong."

The issue
was raised by a councillor who
recently noticed the
inscription.

"It's
stating by implication that
people of indigenous
background did not
exist," said Michael Lee.
He wants to see a new statue,
commemorating an Aboriginal
leader.

Richard
Waterhouse, a historian from
Sydney University, argued that
the inscription should not be
changed.

He said:
"It relates to the fact
that all nations need a
foundation myth and Cook is
part of the British foundation
myth of Australia."